The Role of Families During Transition Planning

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The Role of Families During Transition Planning

• Family Systems Perspective During Transition

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The Family as a Mobile

• In a mobile, all the pieces, no matter what the
  size or shape, can be grouped together and
  balanced by shortening or lengthening the strings
  attached, or rearranging the distance between
  pieces.
• So it is with a family. None of the family
  members is identical to any other they are all
  different and at different levels of growth.
• As in a mobile, you cant arrange one without
  thinking of the other.
• From Viginia.Satir, (1972). Peoplemaking.
  Palo Alto, CA Science and Behavior Books.

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Family Systems Framework
INPUTS

• Family Characteristics
• Description of the family
• Personal characteristics
• Special challenges

• Family Life Cycle
• Stages and Transitions
• Changes in
• Characteristics
• Changes in Functions
• Changes in Life Roles

Cohesion
Adaptability
Extended Family
Marital
Family Interaction
PROCESS
Siblings
Parent-child
Family Functions Affection, Self-esteem,
Economics, Daily care, Socialization, Recreation,
Education, Spiritual
OUTPUTS
Adapted from Turnbull, A.P. Turnbull, H.R.
(2001). Families, professionals, and
exceptionality Collaborating for empowerment
(4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ Merrill
Prentice-Hall.
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Family Characteristics What is Your Definition
of a Family?

• 3 Dimensions of Family Characteristics
• Descriptors of the family
• Personal Characteristics of members
• Special Challenges
• Changing Characteristics of Families
• Changing Composition
• Changing Employment Patterns
• Greater Ethnic and Cultural Diversity

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Changing Characteristics of Families What does
it mean for us?

• What are our current expectations for families to
  be engaged in transition?
• Can we expect single-parent families working
  full-time to be equal partners in transition?
• Do we need to rethink meetings?
• Does the changing composition of families impact
  our assumptions about postschool outcomes?

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Family Interactions
Adaptability
Cohesion
Cohesion boundaries of family members
Adaptability how well the family copes under
stress.
Extended Family
Marital
Siblings
Parent-child
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Role of Siblings in Transition

• Provide first experiences in peer relationships
• Support inclusion in neighborhood, school,
  community
• Adult siblings often take increasing role in care
  or coordination of services
• Role siblings will take often depends upon family
  expectations relationships
• Advantageous for transition professionals to have
  a sense of sibling relationships support
  involvement as desired by family

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Thought Questions about Siblings.

• What is the potential role of siblings in the
  families you work with?
• In which situations would it be positive? Which
  ones would be negative?
• Do you think it is appropriate to have brothers
  and sisters (younger and older) involved in
  educational planning and implementation? At what
  age?
• What strategies might enhance positive
  interactions and involvement of siblings in
  transition planning?

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Family Functions

• Economic
• Daily care
• Recreation
• Socialization
• Self-esteem
• Affection
• Education
• Spiritual functions

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Family Life Cycle
Developmental
Unexpected
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Emergent Adult Role

• Assumptions in society
• What is reality for families with adolescents
  with disabilities?
• Stressor for families uncertain of status
  capabilities of adolescent with disabilities
• Typical experiences for teenagers often missed
  with adolescent with disabilities
• Cultural issues adulthood ? independence
• Obstacles families face in self-determination
• Strategies for supporting self-determination

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Thought Questions Emergent Adult Roles for a
Student you know.

• How has this student participated in any emergent
  adult roles?
• How do you think the students family feel about
  promoting self-determination or more adult roles?
  
• Are there strategies you can think of to assist
  the students family in overcoming obstacles to
  supporting adult roles?
• Is it possible to promote self-determination
  within family-centered and culturally appropriate
  ways?

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Family Issues

• Professional perceptions of families
• Past negative experiences
• Limited and conflicting experiences
• Lack of opportunities
• Lack of knowledge, authority, power
• Stress during transition
• and Dilemmas
• Independence vs. Avoiding risk
• Less involvement vs. More involvement
• Stability vs. Disruptions
• Doing for vs. Teaching
• Maximize potential vs. Accept as is

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Why Should Families Be Involved?

• For Students in General
• Higher achievement
• Positive attitudes and behavior
• Higher graduation rates
• Greater enrollment in postsecondary ed
• Students with Disabilities
• Quality transition plans
• Higher rates of postschool outcomes
• Student preferences

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Increasing Parent-Professional Collaboration

• How does my school actively seek and/or provide
  opportunities for family involvement?
• Are my families involved in the transition
  planning? If not, how can we make this a positive
  experience for them?
• What strategies do we use to actively solicit
  feedback, ideas, comments, and concerns from
  families and students?
• How do we communicate with families?
• What information and skills do parents need to be
  full partners in transition?

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Strategies to Support Families in Transition

1. Encourage Early Expectations
2. Help Parents to Recognize the Importance of their
   Contributions
3. Support Parents to Honor Choices of their Child
4. Increase Role of Social Support Network
5. Address Parent Concerns Regarding Future

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Why Focus on Culturally Diverse Families?

• Participation is lower due to unfamiliarity with
  US practices, different perspectives level of
  involvement need, cultural unresponsiveness of
  the system (Al-Hassan Gardner, 2002)
• Professionals operating under assumptions
  inherent in special education and practice. (Rao,
  2001)
• Insensitivity toward the familys culture
  during transition, this is particularly true
  parents report transition services are
  unresponsiveness and even hurtful (deFur, et al.,
  2001).
• Culturally diverse families are less involved in
  school-based activities passive participation
  may in fact lead to poor postschool outcomes
  (Greene et al., 2003)

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Cultural Base for Special Education
SPED
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Continua of Cultural Beliefs

• Are there cultural characteristics that are
  similar across the three families?
• Do you have a cultural cluster more similar to
  one of the families? What implications does this
  have for the quality of your interactions with
  each family?
• Do you think having a comfortable and trusting
  relationship with your focus family would have an
  impact on working with Donny in accomplishing
  transition outcomes?
• Can you think of probes for more information
  you would need to gather from the family to have
  a more complete cultural understanding of their
  priorities?

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Steps to Cultural Reciprocity
Kalyanpur Harry 1999

• Step 1 Identify the cultural values embedded in
  the professional interpretation of a student's
  disability and special services
• Step 2 Find out whether the family recognizes
  and values these assumptions, and if not, how
  their view differs from yours
• Step 3 Acknowledge and give explicit respect to
  any cultural differences and fully explain the
  cultural basis of the professional assumption
• Step 4 Through discussion and collaboration, set
  about determining the most effective way of
  adapting professional interpretation and services
  to the family's value system

Know Your Own World View
Learn about the Families Their Communities
Acknowledge Respect Cultural Differences
Reach Mutual Goals
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Strategies to Enhance Transition Cultural
Competence

• Outcomes self-esteem, interdependence,
  inclusion
• Familism consider other family members
• Culturally responsive transition information
• Improve cultural competence of transition team
• Cultural role models
• Increase capacity of community networks

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Tips for Enhancing Cultural Competence

• Get to know the family and their cultural
  community
• Use cultural mediators or liaisons to community
• Learn to use words and forms of greetings in the
  familys language.
• Recognize that families may be surprised by the
  extent of parent-professional interactions
  expected in the United States
• Initiate personal interactions not just written
  information. Have all materials translated
• Ask parents how they would like to communicate
• Call to discuss or talk about childs progress
• Keep parents informed about upcoming IEP
  meetings, transition meetings, and ways in which
  they could provide input
• Create a welcoming environment
• Provide varied opportunities for family
  involvement and respect the level of involvement
  families feel comfortable

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Building Relationships with Families

• Identify transition cycle of the family
• Learn to LISTEN
• INVITE Involvement
• Pay attention to family concerns postschool
  outcomes
• Exchange information
• Increase family support